Conductor Says Doesn't Appear Girl, 11, Knew Train Was Coming

(Newser)
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An Amtrak train struck and killed an 11-year-old girl as she walked home from a restaurant near her home Wednesday afternoon in Florida, the AP reports. Polk County Sheriff's officials said in a news release that the train's conductor told investigators Yazmin White was looking down at her phone as she crossed the tracks and gave no indication she was aware the train was approaching.

The train, which had 12 passenger cars and two engines, was going about 68mph when it hit Yasmin. Investigators say the conductor told them he repeatedly sounded the horn and applied the brakes but couldn't avoid the child. The release said evidence at the scene indicated the girl was wearing headphones when the train hit her.

When riding my bike, I have literally had to either ride off a trail or yell at smartphone zombies. Often they were not even wearing earphones. Their level of distraction is incredible. When Pokeman Go was hot, I even saw them walking down the middle of roads completely focused on their screens.

Ezekiel25_17

Jan 5, 2018 8:53 AM CST

Another loss for the rail company as they deal with stupid Americans. Her family's attorney is going to look at things like presence or lack of flat spots on the train wheels and when the engineer blew the horn, and speed. The big win train lieyars always inspect the engines and cars for the flat spots. If they don't see them, they testify in court that the brakes were never applied. Lieyars like to see a lack of them. But they still get wins if the spots are there from the steel to steel contact. Of course for the train company, its in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to mill the wheels at the shop. And until they do, it makes a very noisy rig "clomp, clomp, clomp."